


Everything Comes Full Circle

by Anastasia3000



Category: Carol (2015), The Price of Salt - Patricia Highsmith
Genre: F/F, One Shot, One Shot Collection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-03-01 09:34:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 5,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13292052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anastasia3000/pseuds/Anastasia3000
Summary: One-shots that catch glimpses of Carol and Therese's life.





	1. "I should have said, Therese... wait."

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lupwned](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lupwned/gifts).



> Hello folks! This work was inspired by the amazing stories written by lupwned.  
> Hope you enjoy what I have to offer and comment if you feel like it :)  
> Also, English is not my first language, so I apologize in advance for any mistake you may find.

_“Would you want to know what I’ve been through?_  
_(Through all this time... all this time)_  
_Would you want to know I have missed you too?_  
_(And I have you on my mind)_  
_And you’ve been and you will be a part of me_  
_(That I can’t find)_  
_And you’ve been forgiven for your silence...”_

͞͞͞͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞

(Track: _Elisa – Stay_ )

͞͞͞͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞

Carol briefly rested her hand on Therese’s shoulder, and couldn’t resist the impulse to lightly squeeze it. She craved physical contact with Therese as much as she had wanted to meet her again. During dinner she had looked for a way to get past the layers of coldness and defensiveness Therese had wrapped around her heart to cope with the heartbreak and the delusion she had given her.

“I love you.”

Probably it was too late to make amend and to let Therese know she still loved her, that she had never stopped loving her, and Jack interrupted them. A well-built young man, neatly dressed, a clean face. He was a friend of Therese and when he saw her he stopped by to say hello, then invited her to a party thrown by a common friend. Carol decided it was time for her to leave and let Jack and Therese enjoy their evening – her last hope was that Therese would later join her at the Oak Room; if she didn’t, she would disappear from her life forever, as much as it pained her.

“Nice meeting you, Jack.”

“Nice meeting you.”

And she was gone in the blink of an eye. Carol’s jasmine and orange perfume brought back a wave of memories and emotions Therese could hardly suffocate. With her mind she ran back to _that_ day at Frankenberg’s and the gloves forgotten on the counter, the first luncheon together, the trip, Waterloo. She still loved Carol. It wasn’t over, it had never been – screw Jack, screw Phil’s party, she needed more time to talk with Carol.

“Then it would be great to catch your ride.”

Therese regretted saying those words as soon as she finished the sentence. Jack disappeared soon afterwards, she collected her purse and her coat and rushed towards the stairs hoping she could still get a glimpse of Carol, but just a faint trace of her perfume still lingered in the air, the only ghost of Carol’s passage. Alright then, she would attend the party, but at 9 o’clock she would meet Carol at the Oak Room, no matter what.

 

**;**

 

Therese apparition was so unexpected that Carol thought for a moment it was just a vision, but the younger girl was there, standing in the middle of the dining room, her eyes fixed on Carol’s face. The soft low light of the room made Therese’s emerald green eyes glow like two embers – and Carol’s heart fluttered looking at the woman Therese had become. After a few seconds Carol waved eagerly at Therese, who had taken a few steps forwards. Standing up, Carol shared a few words with her tablemates and then left the group.

“So, you came...” – Carol spoke in a low and velvety voice, while putting a hand on Therese’s back and escorting her out of the dining room – “I guess – I hope – that maybe you’ve changed your mind...”

“I need to talk to you, Carol.” Therese said decisively trying to cover the quiver in her voice, while noticing the shadow of a smile curl the corners of Carol’s mouth as the older woman put on her coat.

As soon as Carol and Therese left the warmth of the building’s lobby, they were swallowed in the icy wind and the darkness of the quiet winter evening. For a few minutes the two women walked side by side, both silent and each one lost in their own thoughts; Carol was the one who broke the silence.

“What is that you want to tell me, Therese?”

Therese stopped and grabbed Carol’s arm, making her turn to face her.

“I missed you, Carol. I missed you so much...” the young woman whispered, leaning her head against Carol’s shoulder and wrapping an arm around her waist, the hand still clinging to Carol’s arm.

Carol’s breath was caught in her throat when Therese pronounced those words and her body tensed up when she felt Therese’s body against hers, but soon enough she released the tension and enveloped Therese into a squeezing hug.

“I missed you too, Therese,” – Carol cupped Therese’s cheek and nuzzled her nose in Therese’s dark hair as she whispered those words in her ear – “I missed you... I missed you...” Tears were forming in her eyes, but she soon composed herself.

“Maybe you’d like to come over to my apartment, at least for tonight... Just not to talk here in this freezing cold...” Carol suggested in a husky voice, breaking away from Therese.

“Sure...” Therese eyes lit up and she opened up in a hearty smile, the dimples that Carol adored so much showing.

Carol linked Therese by the arm and she hurried to get a taxi under the snow that had started to slowly fall and cover the streets of New York.


	2. Per aspera ad astra

_“_ _I_ _got these fresh eyes, never seen you before like this_  
_My God, you're beautiful_  
_It's like the first time when we open the door_  
_Before we got used to usual”_

͞͞͞͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞

(Track: _Andy Grammer - Fresh Eyes_ )

͞͞͞͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞

A warm breeze gently swept Therese’s hair – after a long and cold winter, sunny days were still a rarity in the rainy weather that anticipated spring, and Therese promptly decided to make the most of it by walking home at the end of her workday. The sky was of an electric blue, almost blinding in the afternoon light, and it reminded Therese of Carol’s eyes, Carol who was waiting for her at home in Madison Avenue. Their home now. Therese had moved in a few months before, at the beginning of the new year, after more than a year of them being a couple. Carol had asked her to move in one more time not long after they had reunited, but Therese had to refuse again – not out of anger like the first time, but because she was waiting to sign a permanent contract with The New York Times and she didn’t want to be a nuisance to Carol in case she would lose her job. At the beginning of December she finally got the contract, and in January she was able to pack all of her belongings and leave the cramped apartment she had lived in since her first arrival in New York. When even the last box was carried into Carol’s apartment, they went out to celebrate in a fancy restaurant on Fifth Avenue, later continuing in the intimacy of their home.

The sun lightly warmed Therese’s limbs, putting her in a jollier mood than usual – the sight of a young couple, not much older than she was, sharing an ice-cream while holding hands made her smile in glee, but at the same time her heart ached and she longed she could display affection to Carol in public in such a simple way. A cherry blossom floating in the air caught Therese’s attention – with the sight of the few cherry trees blooming so early in the year, Therese was immediately aware of the sweet fragrance of flowers coming from a nearby stand. It was Peter with his flower stand, where Therese had stopped her fair share of times in the past year to buy flowers on her way to Carol’s, usually red roses and magnolias, Carol’s favourites. From there it would take only another five minutes to arrive to their apartment, and Therese couldn’t wait to be there, to fling herself into Carol’s arms and kiss her – when she opened the entrance door though, the first thing she saw was Carol sound asleep on the couch. After she hanged her coat, Therese tiptoed through the living room and sat quietly on the edge of the sofa, and watched Carol sleep. A beam of sunlight entering from the large window in the room illumined Carol’s freckles on her right cheekbone and the blond eyebrow that curved on her forehead. Delicately moving a strand of hair from Carol’s face, Therese thought about how close they had grown in the past year and the hard times they had overcome together. ‘Through hardships to the stars’, as Carol would sometimes refer to their relationship. And then Therese did the simplest thing in the world – she leaned over and softly kissed Carol on the cheek. And the world cracked open, flooding her with overwhelming joy.

 


	3. Return to sender

_“Like a moth to a flame_  
_Only I am to blame_  
_What can I do?_  
_I go straight to you_  
_I’ve been told_  
_You’re to have, not to hold”_

͞͞͞͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞

(Track: _Madonna – To Have And Not To Hold_ )

͞͞͞͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞

Therese was sorting her freshly washed clothes in the wardrobe when she noticed a cardboard box the same colour of the beige wooden panels of the closet hiding in a corner. She took it and saw on the top the writing _For Therese_ in Carol’s neat handwriting. Inside the box there was a stack of unsent letters, all addressed to her – out of curiosity, Therese picked up the first one and opened it. It dated back to the day Carol had flown back to New Jersey and she had returned to Sioux Fall.

 

“Dearest Therese,

my darling. How awful of me to leave you in such a sudden way, I’ll never forgive me that. I haven’t even properly kissed you goodbye. But I hope you’ll understand that I’m doing all of this to try to keep Rindy close to me, I don’t know and I fear what Harge could do to put her against me.

This afternoon I got home and everything here reminds me of you. It’s all so quiet – the country, the house... I found the cup you used the morning we left still in the sink, there was the sign of your lipstick on the rim. It’s all too quiet, but what I should say is that it’s all too empty around this place without you here with me. You are right, whiskey depresses me... Abby told me I should have listened to you more often, my angel, and she is right, and maybe I should stop drinking whiskey all along, it does me no good anyway. Not long ago I thought I saw you standing on the staircase, coming down from your room... It has been a moment of pure bliss to believe for the briefest second that you were actually here with me, maybe playing something for me on the piano if I asked you to. I feel so selfish for luring you to me during such a gruesome time of my life, but the truth is that I love you with such intensity that sometimes I think it will drive me completely insane one day. And yet I know I cannot ask you to tie your heart to mine, you’re so young, you still cannot make habits out of people. Just remember that I love you, Therese.

I hope you’ll never regret our time together. I hope you’ll never regret me.

Love, Carol.”

 

Therese was speechless, and her hands were trembling. “I regret nothing, Carol... I love you,” she whispered. The doorway opened and Carol’s voice called her name; quickly Therese stacked the letter in the pile again, and put the box back in place. Although she was almost sure Carol had left the box there on purpose for her to find, Therese made a mental note to soon ask Carol about it and its content.


	4. Save the last dance for me

_“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” - Friedrich Nietzsche_

͞͞͞͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞

(Track: _John Legend – Save Room_ )

͞͞͞͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞

“Dance with me...”

“Carol, I don’t... know if I’m in the mood right now...”

“Dance with me and pretend the world doesn’t exist,” she pleaded. Therese got up and took her hand, sighing – after that she knew there was no going back, whatever the thing that Carol had planned was.

Carol dragged Therese in the living room and played a swing ballad on the gramophone, then wrapped an arm around Therese’s waist and pulled her tight to her body. They had been swaying in silence for a couple of minutes to the slow lilting rhythm of the music when Carol inched closer to Therese’s face and placed a smooth kiss on her neck. “Feeling better, darling?”

“When did you set the living room this way, Carol?” The couch, the armchairs and the coffee table had all been moved closer to the walls. Therese half-smiled, but her heart was already racing wildly.

“Well, working overtime always puts you in a terrible mood, and after you stormed in the bedroom as soon as you came home I thought that maybe a dance with me before dinner would cheer you up” – Carol raised an eyebrow and snickered teasingly – “Was it a mistake to drag you out of bed?”

“If that means being this close to you, then it’s never a mistake,” Therese beamed and rested her head on Carol’s shoulder.

“I really like that, you know? But you still haven’t answered my first question.”

Therese looked into Carol’s piercing blue eyes. “What qu-”

“Are you feeling better?”

“Yes... Yes, I’m feeling better now.”

“Good” – Carol smiled and sat on the couch, Therese sat next to her – “Would you tell me what happened at work?”

Carol caressed Therese’s hair and put a hand on her cheek. The summer evening was particularly hot and the window in the living room was partially open – Therese knew the hot weather wasn’t the reason why she was growing hot, and the breeze blowing in the room didn’t help her quench the fire burning on her skin.

“It’s not important, I was tired and I argued with a colleague... It really doesn’t matter...”

“It matters to me, Therese. Always.” And then Carol sealed Therese’s lips with a kiss, before sliding her tongue in her mouth. It felt to Therese like the first kiss they had ever shared – the mere touch of Carol’s mouth sent shock waves of electricity through her whole body, shimmery sparks of light blasting behind her eyelids. Carol delicately laid the younger woman on the couch, weighing on her and adjusting her naked frame to the equally undressed body beneath her, while Therese pulled Carol’s face closer to kiss her with burning desire, until they both ran out of breath. 

“Is this what comes of coming home tired and pissed off?” Therese’s voice was a hoarse whisper barely audible, her eyes a deep shade of green.

Carol didn’t answer, but she resumed kissing Therese instead – she kissed her jaw, she placed little pecks down her neck and her chest and her entire body. Tightening around Carol’s body, Therese let pleasure leap through her. She knew what it would always feel like with Carol – unravel under her kisses and bloom again with her caresses, each flower spreading its roots deeper in her flesh, and each leaf and each bud stretching around Carol, bearing their bodies with all the colours of spring.


	5. Sleeping At Last

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are with the new chapter! Sorry for the delay, but college classes began again :/ But as always, let me hear your opinions, I love reading your comments :)

_“She says “wake up, it’s no use pretending”_  
_I’ll keep stealing, breathing her._  
_Birds are leaving over autumn's ending_  
_One of us will die inside these arms”_

͞͞͞͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞

(Track: _Iron And Wine - Naked As We Came_ )

͞͞͞͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞

_I have something most people spend their lives searching for – someone who would give me the world if I asked. And sometimes it terrifies me._

Thirst had awoken Carol in the middle of the night – with a glass of water in hand, she stopped on the bedroom threshold. Therese was sleeping peacefully lying on her belly, her arms crossed under the pillow, holding up her head and the dark hair scattered messily all around her face. The deep, regular breaths that escaped from her slightly parted lips were a reassuring and familiar background noise along with the rain tapping on the window panes. It was in that moment, when Therese’s vulnerability was laying so bare in front of her eyes, that the thought hit Carol.

_Therese would hand me the whole world. She gave me her own world twice, no matter how much of a mess my life was, or the countless times I’d given her a rotten time. And I didn’t have to ask._

Carol emptied the glass with one last gulp and put it on the nightstand, then slipped again under the covers. In her sleep, Therese sensed a shift in weight on the bed – she turned on one side and sprawled an arm towards Carol. Carol guided Therese’s arm and rested it on her waist, then placed a hand on Therese’s back, drawing soothing circles, trying not to wake her up. Sometimes she still silently chastised herself for the way she had treated Therese – in spite of her young age and all the doubts that come with it, her love for her was pure, solid and unconditional; it was always there. She had repaid Therese by simply shutting her out of her emotional life.

_I reflected my fears on her. I believed she didn’t know what she wanted when I was indecisive, denying myself to fall freely into her embrace. I was running from myself, hiding in the rubble of a life that was no longer mine._

Carol slowly fell back asleep – the warmth of Therese’s body next to hers was comforting and made everything less terrifying. Love wasn’t terrifying, not anymore, not this kind of love. She would give Therese the world, the moon and all the stars in the sky if that was what she wanted.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick extra note: I thought about expanding chapter 3 "Return to sender" and make it a multi-chapter story (to be published separately from this work). I'm running short of ideas on how to continue, so any suggestion (be it actual prompts/quotes/songs/poems/paintings/anything you like) that could help me build a decent plot is very welcome :)  
> Many thanks for your support and your patience! :*


	6. Nerinda Aird

_“And I can tell_  
_That you didn’t had_  
_To face your mother_  
_Losing her lover_  
_Without saying goodbye_  
_Without saying goodbye_  
_‘Cause she didn’t had time”_

͞͞͞͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞

(Track: _Soko – We Might Be Dead By Tomorrow_ )

͞͞͞͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞

“Will you love my daughter, Therese?”

“What?” – in the quiet of one of their easy and comfortable late afternoon silences, Carol’s sudden question startled Therese and an empty teacup almost slipped from her hands – “I mean, of course... Why do you ask?”

“Harge called me over lunch. Rindy wants to spend the Easter holidays with me.”

Therese brought a tray with two teacups and a kettle in the living room and placed it on the coffee table; Carol closed a newspaper and put it aside.

“That’s wonderful!” Therese smiled and plopped on the couch next to Carol, but Carol had a sombre look in her eyes – she took Carol’s hand in hers and caressed the back with her thumb.

“Did he say anything else?”

“You know how he doesn’t approve us living together, he didn’t want to let her stay with me during these holidays. But she threw such a fit that in the end he had to give in,” – a tear collected at the corner of her eye – “But I can’t wait to finally have her here. And I’m also scared, can you believe it?”

“Why? I’m sure she cannot wait to see you as well...”

“What if she doesn’t love me anymore because of something Harge said?”

“I cannot imagine Rindy not loving you... Carol, it’ll all be fine...”

“Are you sure?” Carol squeezed Therese’s hand and attempted a smile.

“I’m sure.” Therese kissed Carol on the temple, then reached for the kettle and started pouring tea in the cups.

 

**;**

 

“The shop girl’s upstairs, isn’t she?” Harge whispered, greeting Carol with a kiss on both cheeks.

“Harge. Therese, not the shop girl. She lives with me, you know it. Why is Rindy still in the car?”

“Therese... Fine.” – Harge snorted – “Rindy’s in the car with my parents.”

At the mention of her once in-laws Carol stiffened and Harge noticed her unease.

“Wait here, I’ll go get her.”

 

**;**

 

“MOMMY!” As soon as she saw Carol, Rindy threw herself into her mother’s arms.

“My darling!” – Carol lifted the little girl and kissed her silly – “I’m so happy to see you! You’ve grown so much...”

Rindy wrapped her legs around her mother’s hips and rested her head against the curve of Carol’s neck; one little hand was delicately laying on her chest.

“Harge, would you mind coming upstairs just for a few minutes?”

 

**;**

 

Therese was pacing back and forth in the living room smoothing down her skirt, trying to hide the non-existing creases. The apartment door opened and Carol entered holding Rindy, a smile Therese had never seen was spreaded on her lips; even the light in her eyes was different. Therese just watched and smiled. Harge followed behind with a bag for Rindy.

“Good morning, Therese.” Harge took down his hat and politely nodded in greeting to her.

“Good morning, Mr. Aird.”

“Rindy, do you remember Therese? She came to visit us once during Christmas time...” Carol chirped.

The girl looked at her intently for a moment, then grinned. “You take pictures?” she asked, but it sounded more like a statement than a question.

“Yes... Yes I do,” – Therese was impressed that she remembered such  a seemingly small thing – “Do you want to see some pictures? I can also show you how to use the camera.”

Rindy simply climbed down her mother’s arms and curled on the sofa while Therese retrieved her portfolios, the camera and the camera rolls. Carol and Harge went into the kitchen. Engrossed as she was in trying to figure out how to work the camera, Rindy didn’t even notice her parents weren’t in the room anymore, but Therese eavesdropped on the conversation in the next room – pleasantries on how they were both doing and future arrangements for Rindy.

“Rindy, kiss daddy goodbye,” Carol then stated.

Rindy jumped down the sofa and nestled in his father’s arms. “Good-bye daddy,” she whispered and kissed him on the cheek.

“Be good with mommy, alright little girl?” – Harge flashed a look to Carol, then to Therese. Rindy nodded – “I have to run. I wish you a good time and happy holidays. Goodbye Therese.”

“Goodbye, Mr. Aird. Happy holidays.”

“Goodbye Carol.”

“Goodbye Harge. Call us, she’ll miss you. You have the number.”

Rindy ran back to her spot on the sofa, and questions rained again on Therese. Carol cast her eyes on her two girls on the couch, and in that instant she ardently wished Therese’s camera was in her hands.

 


	7. Love it calls her name

_“God knows what is hiding in this world of little consequence_  
_Behind the tears, inside the lies_  
_A thousand slowly dying sunsets_  
_God knows what is hiding in those weak and drunken hearts_  
_Guess the loneliness came knocking_  
_No one needs to be alone, oh singin’”_

͞͞͞͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞

(Track: _Birdy – People Help The People_ )

͞͞͞͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞

Always being acknowledged as someone’s wife – the one thing that Carol had hated the most in the past ten years. Now that she was a divorcée, she basked in the freedom of being just herself, no formal ties to bound her to anyone – just sheer admiration and trust for the other person. She had experienced that freedom a first time with Abby and their furniture shop; the one night they had spent together was the crack that had shown Carol she could start to breathe again, freely, if that was what she wanted, and for a moment she had felt like she had it all. The happiness that had sprang since wasn’t bound to last and it had shattered like a tiny glass butterfly; nevertheless Abby and Carol had remained close friends, the admiration and the trust Carol felt for Abby unfazed. In the cafe booth, chatter and the clinking of cups and saucers seemed to come from a distance.

“You love her, don’t you?”

“Oh, is it that obvious?”

Abby trashed the cigarette ash into the ashtray. “If by ‘obvious’ you mean looking transfigured, yes my dear, it’s _that_ obvious. But she does you good, I’ve never seen you... you never looked more beautiful. I’m happy for you.”

“Abby...”

“Carol, let me finish... I value our friendship more than anything else. And I care for you. Don’t you ever risk to let her go away again, you listen?”

Carol just nodded.

“I casually bumped into Therese the other day while running some errands. You should have seen how her whole face lit up when I mentioned your name,” – Abby softly chuckled – “Just like yours right now.”

“Oh, stop it Abigail. You’re making me too self-conscious about my reactions.” Carol whispered light-heartedly, kicking her friend under the table.

“Am I?” – Abby winked – “My bad.”

“What is the true aim of the discussion, Abby?”

“You and Therese have been doing great so far, don’t shut down with her. Don’t shut her out what’s going on your mind, ever. It hurts when you do. I understand it might be hard sometimes, but it’s a wrench to see you silently suffer and not being able to reach out to you. And I know what I’m talking about.”

“I am sorry I hurt you Abby.”

“That’s water under the bridge now. Don’t be a nitwit with her, be it with me. That’s what best friends are for after all.”

Laughter relieved the serious tone of the conversation – they hadn’t worked as lovers, but they worked perfectly as friends. Abby was the rock that kept Carol grounded to the real world, and Carol loved her immensely for that.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I'm back after a long time, sorry. (Damn college!) Hope you can forgive the shortness of the chapter as well. 
> 
> As always, feel free to leave comments - I'm always very pleased to read them :)


	8. Cotton Candy

_“Half the world was pulling on his colors_  
_As nights turned into day to the hours_  
_A glow was coming down, coming down_  
_I don’t know why_  
_But it felt like a tiger striped sky”_

͞͞͞͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞

(Track: _Roo Panes – Tiger Striped Sky_ )

͞͞͞͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞

The afternoon was slowly turning into evening – the flaming colours of sunset, the warm breeze gliding over their heads, the sweet scent of warm soil and grass and hay were accompanying Carol and Therese on their car ride.

“How did you come up with this idea?”

“What do you mean?”

“To go to a state fair in the countryside. I didn’t even know they organized state fairs right outside New York.”

“Oh, Danny told me about that. He went there the other night with Phil and a bunch of their friends. He said it’s a nice place to go to if you want to do something different for a change. Or if you want to get drunk.”

Carol chuckled. “Do you want to get drunk, Therese?”

“Well,” – Therese smiled – “Would you?”

 

**;**

 

The strings of lights illuminating the fair were becoming brighter and brighter as the blue evening sky was turning darker. An ocean of people was packing the fair area and the sound of laughter of bouncing children was ringing in the air, mingling with the upbeat songs of country bands. When they had sat down to get something to eat, Carol had opted for a grilled ear of corn while Therese had gotten some churros, and they had shared a beer.

Later in the evening, after they had gotten their third cloud of cotton candy, Therese met one of Danny’s friends and stopped to talk with him; when she turned around, she noticed that Carol was looking at the Ferris wheel with a rapt expression, her gaze lost in some distant fantasy. Therese allowed herself to get lost in the details of Carol’s face – the shape of her lips, the sharp angle of her cheekbones and the pattern of the freckles climbing over the bridge of her nose. The way the wind messed with her hair, but just so slightly to reveal one or two grey threads near the temples. Carol was half-smiling – there was a certain warmth in her eyes, accentuated by the few fine wrinkles around them. Therese felt it all at once, all of a sudden: she had not believed in love at first sight until Carol had walked into her life.

“What are you thinking?”

“What am I thinking?” – Carol slowly turned and fixed her eyes on Therese – “I am thinking... I think this is what happiness feels like. A summer evening at a state fair, just the two of us, eating a ridiculous amount of cotton candy.”


	9. Lenses

_“Sospiro e gemo_  
_Senza voler,_  
_Palpito e tremo_  
_Senza saper,_  
_Non trovo pace_  
_Notte né dì:_  
_Ma pur mi piace_  
_Languir così.”_

 _(“I sigh and I groan  
without wishing to,  
I flutter and tremble  
without knowing why,  
I find no peace  
night nor day:  
but yet to languish thus  
__is sheer delight.”)_  

͞͞͞͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  

 (Track: _Mozart –_ Aria of Cherubino _"Voi Che Sapete"_ from _“Le Nozze di Figaro”_ )

͞͞͞͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞

Therese watched her as she came out of the sea and briskly walked on the hot sand. Hidden behind her dark sunglasses, she noticed how the water had darkened her hair and was dripping from her locks, how the sun-reddened skin of her cheeks made her blue eyes even shinier and brighter, but mostly how the black bikini well complimented her tall elegant figure. It took Therese an ungodly amount of time to convince Carol to wear it to the beach, but she had never been more right on insisting – Carol was a vision, her personal Venus.

“Are you alright, darling?” Carol asked while blotting her hair. Therese had sighed audibly.

“Oh? Yes! It’s just... you look so beautiful...” Therese whispered.

Carol’s face briefly twitched into a defiant look, then she turned and showed her back to Therese. “Liar!”, she laughed.

“Shut up!” – Therese smacked a hand on Carol’s back – “I’m serious! And you know I’m right...”

“No, I don’t...”

“Look at me, please?” – Carol reluctantly turned to face Therese again – “Do you really think I’d lie to you?”

“No, Therese...”

“What was this for, then?”

Carol looked away; Therese followed the direction of her gaze – Carol was looking at her own belly and legs.

“Carol...”

“After I gave birth to Rindy, I always felt too self conscious about my body... I never looked the same again...”

Therese took her hand. “But you’re beautiful, Carol.”

“Say it again looking at me, no sunglasses on. Would you?”

She complied without hesitation. “You are beautiful, Carol. I mean it.” – Therese then smiled – “Just... stay like that. Don’t move.”

“Why?”

“Let me take a picture of you. To show you how beautiful you really are.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My personal favourite version of "Voi che sapete" is from the mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli :)


	10. August, 10th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This afternoon, after leaving college after an exam, I saw a lady walking down the street with a bunch of sunflowers - the idea for this scene came to mind and had to share it with you :)

_“For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.” – Vincent van Gogh_  


͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞ 

(Track: _Claude Debussy – L’âme évaporée_ )

͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞  ΅  ͞ 

The intercom buzzed twice, two short buzzes in the very distinctive Carol’s manner. Therese sticked her head out of the window and saw Carol’s blonde head down in front of the building’s main door, holding various brown paper bags in her arms. Dark clouds had gotten thicker in the New York sky in the last couple of hours, but miraculously she had made it back home before the upcoming summer storm.

Carol looked up from the sidewalk and saw Therese peering down at her. “Therese, would you mind opening the door? These bags aren’t helping me, and it will rain soon!” she shouted.

Therese realised she was still at the window and rushed to the intercom. The main door hadn’t closed behind Carol yet, that rain started pouring down – first in droplets few and far in between, then suddenly it turned into a thundershower. Carol knocked on their door.

“Take some of the bags, darling, would you?” Carol huffed when Therese opened the door.

Therese picked up a few bags from Carol’s arms and brought them into the kitchen. “Carol, isn’t this a bit too much of grocery shopping? I mean, we’re leaving for Florida next week, something will surely go bad by the time we come back...”

“That’s not all grocery shopping. I bought also a new comb for Rindy, and a present for you.”

“A present for me?”

“That bag over there. It’s for you.”

Therese looked at the bag placed on a kitchen chair and noticed for the first time a couple of sunflowers peeking out of it. The look of amazement and happiness on Therese’s face when she took the whole bunch of sunflowers out of the bag was a thing Carol could relish forever, as well as the kiss on her lips before Therese started looking for a vase to put the flowers in.

“Oh, they’re so lovely! Let’s place them in the living room!”

As soon as Therese placed the vase on the coffee table, the light went out, leaving them no time to admire the effect of the sunflowers in full display. A flash of lightning struck and illumined the living room for a brief moment.

“Well, in this darkness they looked like fleeting stars, didn’t they? Stars inside a vase, can you imagine?” Carol said, kissing Therese on the temple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 4th of July to all the Americans out there reading this!! :D


End file.
